The Student Room Group

NEED ADVICE FAST-- Which med schools should I apply for that play to my strengths?

So after a lot of research I've found that I reach the so called "minimum" entry requirements for almost every medical school, but what I'm starting to notice is that there are many factors that have certain cut offs for interviews that are either not mentioned clearly on the unis website or simply not mentioned at all.
E.g. I had planned to apply to Cardiff thinking I was a strong competitor, later to see on the student to that usually 8A*s at GCSE is the cut off to obtain an interview..
Basically I'm unsure as to which sources are reliable and could really use some advice as to which unis I would stand a good chance at.

My stats are as follows:

GCSEs = 7A*s( maths, all three sciences, two languages and technology) 4As( sadly English language and literature, music and religious studies)

UKCAT = 703 average Band 2 (850QR 730AR 530VR<-- don't know what the hell happened there, but apart from Warwick are there any unis that care about the individual sections?)

AS = AAAA (maths,further maths,chem,bio)
A2 Predictions = A*A*A* (maths,Chem,bio)

And as for my personal statement, I don't have a tonne of work experience but I've got enough to write about and reflect on so I think my PS is coming along nicely. No DofE or music grades but I do a lot of sport and I play drums and all that, so I reckon I've got enough to write about.

The unis I was trying to narrow down for my 4 choices was:
UCL( if it's worth doing the BMAT)
Kings College London
Queen Mary London/Barts
Manchester
Bristol
Birmingham
Cardiff
Keele
Southampton
Nottingham

So if you know whether any of these would be suitable that would be preferable, but I'm also up for any other suggestions that I haven't mentioned!
Original post by CSD99
So after a lot of research I've found that I reach the so called "minimum" entry requirements for almost every medical school, but what I'm starting to notice is that there are many factors that have certain cut offs for interviews that are either not mentioned clearly on the unis website or simply not mentioned at all.
E.g. I had planned to apply to Cardiff thinking I was a strong competitor, later to see on the student to that usually 8A*s at GCSE is the cut off to obtain an interview..
Basically I'm unsure as to which sources are reliable and could really use some advice as to which unis I would stand a good chance at.

My stats are as follows:

GCSEs = 7A*s( maths, all three sciences, two languages and technology) 4As( sadly English language and literature, music and religious studies)

UKCAT = 703 average Band 2 (850QR 730AR 530VR<-- don't know what the hell happened there, but apart from Warwick are there any unis that care about the individual sections?)

AS = AAAA (maths,further maths,chem,bio)
A2 Predictions = A*A*A* (maths,Chem,bio)

And as for my personal statement, I don't have a tonne of work experience but I've got enough to write about and reflect on so I think my PS is coming along nicely. No DofE or music grades but I do a lot of sport and I play drums and all that, so I reckon I've got enough to write about.

The unis I was trying to narrow down for my 4 choices was:
UCL( if it's worth doing the BMAT)
Kings College London
Queen Mary London/Barts
Manchester
Bristol
Birmingham
Cardiff
Keele
Southampton
Nottingham

So if you know whether any of these would be suitable that would be preferable, but I'm also up for any other suggestions that I haven't mentioned!


Southampton and Nottingham both good. Cardiff and Birmingham not sure you have enough A* GCSEs and also Bristol which can quite A* heavy. I think Manchester, keele, Kings also ok. Don't know about Barts. You might consider Leicester, Newcastle and UEA. Exeter would love your predictions. Notts look at sub sections and give marks for each but you would make up for poorer section with the other two good sections plus your good academics in the GCSEs that they look at. St George's look at sections but as long as each is over 500 they're OK.
Reply 2
I would recommend looking at St Georges, Plymouth, maybe Exeter, Manchester. I would defo say St Georges as you are practically guaranteed an interview. Southampton ranks by UKCAT so you would also have a good chance there as well
Reply 3
UCL( if it's worth doing the BMAT) - Could be a good choice but they do place some preference to those with a non-science subject at A-Level for their 3rd subject. If you feel confident in a good BMAT, may be a good choice.
Kings College London - You have a very good UKCAT which would but you in good stead, but they are quite holistic. Your GCSEs are good and as long as your PS is decent you stand a good chance of interview. Check to see if they want 2 weeks of care experience, though. If they don't then you have a good chance.
Queen Mary London/Barts - From the sounds of it your UCAS Tariff will not be high enough, and your UKCAT just isn't quite high enough to balance it out I don't think. It would be best to avoid it here, sorry :frown:
Manchester - Your UKCAT is good and your academics are good, you would stand a good chance here I think.
Bristol - They want 2 weeks in a care environment, from the sounds of it, you don't have that. They are also very PS Heavy, and with your academics, there really isn't that much point in such a massive risk.
Birmingham - Your academics and UKCAT would probably be good enough for them, but if you don't have enough voluntary work or work experience, then it would be a definite risk. Check their entry requirements page to see what they see and decide for yourself if you want to take that risk.
Cardiff - Your GCSEs are great, but not quite good enough to be safe, I'd say avoid and apply to places where you are better suited
Keele - If you have a lot of volunteer work then it's a great choice, if not, it would be a risk due to their Roles and Responsibilities form
Southampton - Your UKCAT is good, so are your GCSEs, but I don't know the rest of their admissions. Look that up for yourself, but I think you have a good chance of interview otherwise.
Nottingham - Their scoring system has changed slightly this year, so it's difficult to say whether you have a great chance or not. You only lose 1 point on GCSEs I think, but it may be two, and your UKCAT will have you in good stead, although you will lose 4 points there. It may be a risk, but it's up to you. If you do decide to apply here, you'll also have to confident in a good PS, because they then go on to judge that. You have to be a real all-rounder to get to interview here :lol:

I think it would also be a good idea to look into:

UEA - Scored based on GCSEs (which you will do well on), A Level predictions and UKCAT, so you're in with a very good chance.
Glasgow - Quite UKCAT heavy. Don't really know how they invite to interview, but worth considering.
Aberdeen - I think they rank your A2 predictions and UKCAT score, but they will also look at your PS, I think. Your scores before interview do count for your offer, with 50% of it being based on the interview, so if you think you aren't all that confident on interview, it's a good choice. That said, I'm not completely certain on their application system, but I think you stand a good chance there. Do look at the university website yourself, since I'm not 100% certain on this, but I think it may be a good choice either way.
Dundee - For RUK, they rank your A2 predictions and UKCAT score I think, leaving you in with a good chance of interview, but I've heard they have some of the worst interviews, so if you're worried about interviews, that's something to bear in mind.
Leicester - Similar process to Nottingham, I think you would only lose 4 points overall leaving you in good chance for an interview, but yet again, their scoring process has changed, making us unsure as to what the cut-off could be like, so may possibly be risky.
Newcastle - You have a good UKCAT, and they interview based solely on UKCAT score, so you would stand a very good chance at interview based on the cut-offs of previous years.
BSMS - If you want to take the BMAT, but you don't really need to, but if you like it, it's worth applying.
Exeter - Have a Tier based system and A*A*A* predictions will put you into Tier 1, and you've got a very good UKCAT, almost guaranteeing you an interview I think. Do be warned, from what I'm aware, their anatomy teaching is a bit weak, so if you want strong anatomy with Dissections/Prosections, then it may not be a good idea to apply here.

From these, select the ones that you think you have the best chance of interview at, and then which ones you actually prefer based on course and location, I guess.
Reply 4
Original post by Jehaan
I would recommend looking at St Georges, Plymouth, maybe Exeter, Manchester. I would defo say St Georges as you are practically guaranteed an interview. Southampton ranks by UKCAT so you would also have a good chance there as well


Plymouth would be risky since they have individual sub-section cut-offs, and their VR is a bit on the low side.
Reply 5
Original post by Gogregg
UCL( if it's worth doing the BMAT) - Could be a good choice but they do place some preference to those with a non-science subject at A-Level for their 3rd subject. If you feel confident in a good BMAT, may be a good choice.
Kings College London - You have a very good UKCAT which would but you in good stead, but they are quite holistic. Your GCSEs are good and as long as your PS is decent you stand a good chance of interview. Check to see if they want 2 weeks of care experience, though. If they don't then you have a good chance.
Queen Mary London/Barts - From the sounds of it your UCAS Tariff will not be high enough, and your UKCAT just isn't quite high enough to balance it out I don't think. It would be best to avoid it here, sorry :frown:
Manchester - Your UKCAT is good and your academics are good, you would stand a good chance here I think.
Bristol - They want 2 weeks in a care environment, from the sounds of it, you don't have that. They are also very PS Heavy, and with your academics, there really isn't that much point in such a massive risk.
Birmingham - Your academics and UKCAT would probably be good enough for them, but if you don't have enough voluntary work or work experience, then it would be a definite risk. Check their entry requirements page to see what they see and decide for yourself if you want to take that risk.
Cardiff - Your GCSEs are great, but not quite good enough to be safe, I'd say avoid and apply to places where you are better suited
Keele - If you have a lot of volunteer work then it's a great choice, if not, it would be a risk due to their Roles and Responsibilities form
Southampton - Your UKCAT is good, so are your GCSEs, but I don't know the rest of their admissions. Look that up for yourself, but I think you have a good chance of interview otherwise.
Nottingham - Their scoring system has changed slightly this year, so it's difficult to say whether you have a great chance or not. You only lose 1 point on GCSEs I think, but it may be two, and your UKCAT will have you in good stead, although you will lose 4 points there. It may be a risk, but it's up to you. If you do decide to apply here, you'll also have to confident in a good PS, because they then go on to judge that. You have to be a real all-rounder to get to interview here :lol:

I think it would also be a good idea to look into:

UEA - Scored based on GCSEs (which you will do well on), A Level predictions and UKCAT, so you're in with a very good chance.
Glasgow - Quite UKCAT heavy. Don't really know how they invite to interview, but worth considering.
Aberdeen - I think they rank your A2 predictions and UKCAT score, but they will also look at your PS, I think. Your scores before interview do count for your offer, with 50% of it being based on the interview, so if you think you aren't all that confident on interview, it's a good choice. That said, I'm not completely certain on their application system, but I think you stand a good chance there. Do look at the university website yourself, since I'm not 100% certain on this, but I think it may be a good choice either way.
Dundee - For RUK, they rank your A2 predictions and UKCAT score I think, leaving you in with a good chance of interview, but I've heard they have some of the worst interviews, so if you're worried about interviews, that's something to bear in mind.
Leicester - Similar process to Nottingham, I think you would only lose 4 points overall leaving you in good chance for an interview, but yet again, their scoring process has changed, making us unsure as to what the cut-off could be like, so may possibly be risky.
Newcastle - You have a good UKCAT, and they interview based solely on UKCAT score, so you would stand a very good chance at interview based on the cut-offs of previous years.
BSMS - If you want to take the BMAT, but you don't really need to, but if you like it, it's worth applying.
Exeter - Have a Tier based system and A*A*A* predictions will put you into Tier 1, and you've got a very good UKCAT, almost guaranteeing you an interview I think. Do be warned, from what I'm aware, their anatomy teaching is a bit weak, so if you want strong anatomy with Dissections/Prosections, then it may not be a good idea to apply here.

From these, select the ones that you think you have the best chance of interview at, and then which ones you actually prefer based on course and location, I guess.


Wow thank you so much, you've been beyond helpful! See I'm a bit confused as to what counts as 2 weeks of work experience, to make it a bit easier for you to judge I'll just explain what I have;
-A 15 week placement volunteering in the elderly ward of a hospital(3 hours every Sunday)
- 1 week in a GP
- Day spent in the operating theatre shadowing a consultant plastic surgeon( NHS, not cosmetic haha)
Reply 6
Original post by CSD99
Wow thank you so much, you've been beyond helpful! See I'm a bit confused as to what counts as 2 weeks of work experience, to make it a bit easier for you to judge I'll just explain what I have;
-A 15 week placement volunteering in the elderly ward of a hospital(3 hours every Sunday)
- 1 week in a GP
- Day spent in the operating theatre shadowing a consultant plastic surgeon( NHS, not cosmetic haha)


If I'm honest, it's never really been that clear to me either :lol:
What you have may be enough, but I'm not completely certain, it may be best to e-mail admissions, or call up if you need a more immediate answer, to get a fixed response.

If that's all the volunteering you have though, while it is very good, it probably won't be enough for Keele, so it would probably be best to strike them off of your list, also :s-smilie:

I'm very glad I could help, and I'll be wishing you the best of luck in your application :h:
HI,
I Just wanted to know what unis you guys think i should apply to
My results were
IGCSES: 9A* and 1A
AS: 5A
A2 Predicted: 4 A*

i was thinking of applying to;
Queen Mary
St Georges
Kings
Imperial/UCL

but that was before getting my UKCAT scores which arent the best:
VR - 610
QR - 780
AR - 470 :-(
SJT - Band 3 :-(

which unis should i apply to?
Original post by Habibmazahir
HI,
I Just wanted to know what unis you guys think i should apply to
My results were
IGCSES: 9A* and 1A
AS: 5A
A2 Predicted: 4 A*

i was thinking of applying to;
Queen Mary
St Georges
Kings
Imperial/UCL

but that was before getting my UKCAT scores which arent the best:
VR - 610
QR - 780
AR - 470 :-(
SJT - Band 3 :-(

which unis should i apply to?

For what subject?:smile:
Original post by sunshine774
For what subject?:smile:


medicine
Reply 10
Do you know which unis accept access to medicine
Original post by Habibmazahir
HI,
I Just wanted to know what unis you guys think i should apply to
My results were
IGCSES: 9A* and 1A
AS: 5A
A2 Predicted: 4 A*

i was thinking of applying to;
Queen Mary
St Georges
Kings
Imperial/UCL

but that was before getting my UKCAT scores which arent the best:
VR - 610
QR - 780
AR - 470 :-(
SJT - Band 3 :-(

which unis should i apply to?


Think st George's want over 500 in all sections and don't ukcat is enough for Mary's or imperial. You GCSEs are great so think Cardiff would be excellent as they don't really look at ukcat, Birmingham, UEA and Bristol also quite GCSE heavy. Exeter would like your predictions

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